Rachel Colenso

Today Rosemary and I stopped and gaped in awe as about 20 whales swam close to the beaches of Scarborough, and Witsands , heading north. Large fins and curved tails danced between the waves and plumes of sea water gushed into the air. It literally made me stop, for a long time. As Rosemary squealed in delight at each new sighting I thought of how fortunate we are to live so close to nature. Not everyone does, and so making a special day to think about how we can preserve our planet for future generations is very important. Tomorrow, Saturday 24 th October, is the international day for climate change. To raise awareness of the necessity of preserving our natural world is the international 350 campaign. 350 parts per million CO2 in the atmosphere is the safe limit for humanity. We are currently over 390 and need to return to 350 in order to sustain life on our planet. All of us need to take action to maintain a healthy environment for not just our sake, but that of our children. Aroun...

Camping with toddlers may seem a bit of chore. All the getting ready, the packing, unpacking, crying over dollies left at home and misplaced tent pitching enthusiasm. An easy alternative is 'balcony camping.' (Or 'stoep camping') Two nights ago Rosemary looked up at the crescent moon and milky way from her balcony 'camp bed' with wonder before exclaiming. "I can't reach the moon. It is too high." There was quite a pause, then, "I can reach it with a step ladder." Rosemary's camp bed is our bouldering mat, and it has never seen quite so much use as it is now. Later the moon set blood red over the Atlantic ocean, that earlier that day I had braved a 'swim' in. Large bats flew overhead, and the calls of the night were plentiful. Most interesting was the grunting of the Eland which seemed to echo across the valley. The great advantages of balcony camping are: having use of your entire kitchen including the microwave. having the l...